Editorial: Make it a real home field advantage this season, Tribe fans

Opening Day in Major League Baseball is one of my favorite days of the year. This whole time of year is one of my favorite times -- winter is wheezing to an end and spring, and the sun, are starting to show up again.

For the Cleveland Indians, it's no doubt a bittersweet week. Very soon, they'll hoist the AL pennant and rightfully take pride in last year's amazing season. But have no doubt, there's unfinished business. This team doesn't want to finish second this year -- they want to win Cleveland its first World Series since 1948.

This week online, second baseman Jason Kipnis wrote a tremendous story about how it felt to come so close and come up short. He also wrote about what the fans can do to help push the Indians over the top this year: show up.

On paper, this is one of the best teams in baseball, and Progressive Field needs to be one of the toughest places to play. Last year, it was -- at times. It was near the end when the playoffs were becoming a reality, and then it wasn't at the very end when Cubs fans might have outnumbered Indians fans at Game 7 of the World Series in Cleveland.

"We saw a ton of blue shirts, and hats, and jerseys -- especially during Game 7. And I'm not going to lie ... it hurt a little bit," Kipnis wrote in his essay.

And he's right -- I didn't like that at all, either.

This is our town and this is our team. With a chance to win it all this season, the home field advantage should be the home field advantage in April, all summer long, and all playoffs long.

This could be a very special year. I hope we can all be out at the park to help make that happen, starting with the very first home game.